Page 17 of Chasing Elliott
“All jokes aside, I sure as hell hope so or else you’ll be paying my hospital bill when Ibreak an ankle,” I teased as I let my hand fall from his shoulder, both shoes now securely on my feet.
I brushed past him, making my way into the living room to see Nicholas sitting on thecouch with a smug grin on his face. I rolled my eyes, opting against saying the witty remark that was on the tip of my tongue, not feeling like opening that door. I grabbed my fanny pack off the couch, clipping it around my waist as I ignored the scoff from behind me.
“I didn’t take you as the fanny pack kind of girl,” Cooper noted with a raised brow. Karalaughed from the kitchen where she was leaning against the counter, a bottle of water in her hand.
“Well, she sure isn’t the purse wearing kind of girl,” she pointed out before she pushed away from her position and approached us, a sly grin on her face. “Now, I’m trusting you to takecareof my baby here for me, so don’t make me regret not giving you two a curfew.”
I rolled my eyes as Kara wrapped an arm around my waist and pointed a threatening, orat least she thought it was, finger at Cooper. Nicholas suddenly appeared beside me wearing, what appeared to be, his most intimidating stare. “You hurt her, I hurt you. Got it?”
“You can’t even kill a spider,” I reminded Nicholas as I looked up at him with an incredulous look. He feigned hurt as he looked down at me with wide eyes and I couldn’t help it as I chuckled at his demeanor.
“I’ll take care of her, scouts honor.” I turned my attention towards the man in front of meand watched as he crossed his heart while holding his other hand in the air. Kara smiled but Nicholas didn’t seem too amused.
“Good. Now, you two go have fun and I expect a couple pictures,” Kara told us as she finally let me out of her grasp. I stepped forward and grabbed Cooper’s hand, dragging him toward the door. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
I closed the door tightly behind me before either of them could utter another word, a sigh escaping me before he and I exchanged a glance. We suddenly burst into laughter withoutwarning before he gestured for me to walk ahead of him towards his bike. I stopped beside it and grabbed the helmet, turning towards him with a smile.
“Would you be ever so kind as to put this crown on the queen’s head?”
Cooper laughed as a goofy grin covered his face, but he took the helmet out of my hand and placed it on my head, securing the buckle under my chin. “Anything for you, YourMajesty.”
“Is that my new nickname?” I pondered, remembering back to our conversation earlier in the day.
“You said you wanted a better nickname and ‘Your Majesty’ doesn’t fit the bill,” heanswered, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Once he was finished making sure the helmet was secure, I rested my hands on my hips as he took a small step back. “Before I climb on this bike, I need to hear what you came up with. That was the deal after all: a better nickname in exchange for a date.”
“I still find it ridiculous that I need your seal of approval on what nickname I call you,”Cooper mumbled as he reached for my arm and gently moved me to the side before he climbed onto the bike. “Come on, Hurricane, we got places to be.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on my face as we pulled into a dirt parking lot. The sound of laughter filled my ears as I took in the bright lights that lay before us. I climbed off the bike, my eyes never leaving the sight before me as Cooper removed the helmet from my head. I found my gaze settling on his to find a satisfied smirk resting there.
“A carnival? I guess you are full of surprises, Benny.”
Cooper climbed off the bike, resting the helmet on the seat before he reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine. “I never back down from a challenge. Besides, why have acliché date at a fancy restaurant when you can play games and enjoy a good ole fashioned hot dog?”
“Does that mean you’re going to win me a giant stuffed teddy bear?” I asked as I allowed him to lead me towards the red and white striped ticket booth.
“I don’t know about giant, but I’ll win you something,” he promised, releasing his grip on my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulders instead. “And I’ll buy you cotton candy.”
I grinned at that as we approached the ticket booth and Cooper let his arm fall, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans to grab his wallet. Upon paying the man in the booth and receiving tickets, he reached for my hand and led me into the heart of the carnival.
Cooper quickly scanned the area as we passed by countless food trucks and games, presumably looking for one in particular. Before I could lead him in the direction of a game that caught my attention, he was pulling me towards one that had caught his own. Together wepractically jogged towards the booth.
“You ready to play, lad?” The elderly gentleman running the booth asked as he placed atoothpick in his mouth. Cooper smiled down at me and nodded eagerly before he walked up to give him a few tickets.
“Yes, sir,” he responded as he accepted the five baseballs the man handed to him and laid them out on the wooden plank in front of himself. “I need to impress the girl somehow, don’t I?”
It was a simple game, a pyramid of bottles that he had to knock over. Cooper looked over at me for a brief moment, a grin covering his features as he tossed a ball in the air beforecatching it. He moved into the familiar stance that only a pitcher can master, bringing his kneeup to his chest before he threw the ball.
I rolled my eyes at his antics but once the ball knocked over the pyramid, not a singlebottle left standing, I found myself standing there with slightly wide eyes. Cooper cast a glancein my direction, a satisfied look resting upon his face. The elderly man seemed disappointed that Cooper had succeeded that quickly as he folded his arms over his chest and huffed to himself.
Cooper’s smile increased tenfold, proud as ever, as he held his arms open for me to jump into. I did as he wanted, throwing myself into his arms as he spun me around in a circle, laughter ringing out between the two of us. Once he set me down, we both turned to the man.
“I knew the nickname Benny came to me for a reason,” I teased, elbowing him lightly in the side.
“Which can she choose from?” Cooper asked the man, that crooked smile never leaving his face.
The man leaned against the wooden frame of the booth, lazily gesturing to everything around him before he took the toothpick out of his mouth and flicked it onto the ground. “Anything.”
